LEAVES OF GLASS

Glass, as a building material, offers a special interlayer between our outer and inner space and has opened up and contained, as well as sheltered and revealed, the architecture of its time. Architects' pursuit of the minimal environmental envelope has created an evolutionary and reductionist approach, whereby glass has become a predominant and essential cladding material of contemporary architecture.

STRUTTING SPACE

Students at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation have been building complex structures — and in the process learning about parametric modeling, digital fabrication, and computer-assisted assembly.

They have been using the Trusset System, developed by Columbia researchers in the Avery Digital Fabrication Laboratory. The system provides an inexpensive and simple method for manufacturing and building a custom-designed, three-dimensional space-truss structure and enclosure.

SEALING OUT WATER

Sealants are an important part of the building envelope system. I think of them as the third line of defense against water and vapor intrusion. The first line of defense is made up of the building skin, with its coatings, veneers, and sheathings. Membranes and flashings are secondary.

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